So you just turned fourteen. That means that you’re probably pretty confused right now. You know about the biggest dream of your life even though you’re afraid to say it out loud. You want to become a writer.

The thing is that even at fourteen you are already one. You don’t have to be published (but I’ll spoil you a bit and tell you that there are plenty of people that will read what you write in the future!) but as long as what you love is to write and you can’t think about anything else at times, then you are a writer.

I remember the notebooks that should have been filled with homework, but are filled with scribbled words instead. Poems, short stories, ideas and thoughts. I still have most of them in a box. Don’t ever stop doing that. You’ll love it just as much in the future, if not more. And don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, because you are already on the path to your dream. The truth is that it doesn’t matter how long it takes, it’s the journey that’s important.

When you’re reading this you believe that you’ve been in love several times already, but your first real love will appear in a couple of years. You will love him like no one you’ve ever loved before even though he doesn’t deserve it. I would like to advise to leave it be, but I know that won’t be the case even if I say so. Because even though that love broke my heart more than once I now look back at it with a smile on my face and keep it as a fond memory of hopeless first love.

Love as much as you can, and fall as hard as you do because you can’t help it and you will grow from it. And guess what! He’s one of the best kissers you will kiss. At least up to this point when I’m writing this twelve years after I first met him.

You’ll fall in love and out of love several times and it will be wonderful and heartbreaking every time. Treasure those smiles and the tears as well. They are a part of growing up and learning to know yourself.

I know you are tired of school already and feel unsure where to go next. We’ll find our way even if takes a little longer than for some. Don’t worry so much about not knowing where your path is going. It will take you on adventures you never could have predicted.

Listen to your gut and to your heart. Don’t let everyone else shape you but search the world for your very own self. You already have it all in you!

Nothing I write to you (my fourteen year old self) will change our future and maybe I don’t want it to either.

Because all the love, confusion, fun and hurt is a part of our journey and if I chose another path it would probably lead to much of the same but with other people involved.

You will meet so many interesting people. Kirsti is still your best friend at age twenty-seven and I don’t know where I would have been without her. Tell her how important she is to you even though she probably already know. All the laughs and tears you will share are already many of my fondest memories.

Don’t listen to those girls that tell you you’re ugly. You are beautiful and those features that makes you different will take you places, trust me!

Read more! Explore the power of words!

You’ll do thing that you’ll regret and you will break hearts in the future even though you can’t imagine that at the moment. It will hurt you too, more than you can imagine. Take those experiences with you and learn from them. Emotions are just as difficult now as I’m closing in on thirty as it is for you now. So don’t wait for life to be easier, it won’t.

That might sound depressing but it really isn’t. It’s just life. Perfect life with all its imperfections.

Hug mom and dad more often, and really pay attention to what they tell you. Sounds like silly advise when you’re reading this but a lot of the things they say really do make sense. They’ve already been through so much and they love you more than you will ever comprehend.

Share your love, because love is never wasted. Make the most of life and don’t be afraid of being different!

Learn to love yourself, give out compliments and challenge yourself whenever you can!

You are truly special and even though everything can seem hopeless at fourteen, there’s always light to be found even at the darkest of times!